Rose Manor (13): Shared Clues

In Rose Manor's garden, three pits lay neatly across the earth like scars.

A mangled, bloody corpse lay flat in each pit. Including the first one they had dug up, there were two men and one woman in total.

The three corpses wore modern clothing, yet all had unfamiliar faces. At the very least, none of the three people present recognized them.

The last pit contained a girl no more than twelve or thirteen years old. Her hair was tied into two pigtails, and her dress had been shredded by vines, exposing crisscrossing bloody wounds across her skin. She looked especially pitiful.

Ever since the first corpse had been unearthed, Zou Yan had stayed by Chang Xu's side, quietly watching him work.

When she saw the girl's body, she took off her coat and covered the corpse with it, her eyes filled with compassion. "Poor child. May the Lord bless you."

Chang Xu returned the shovel to the corner by the wall and analyzed the situation expressionlessly. "We know that one person dies each day, and the instance lasts three days. These three should be the batch of Players who entered the instance before us."

"They may not have been Players, and they certainly may not have been the people before us." Zou Yan raised her head to look at the sky. "I remember this instance has been opened many times. If three people were buried in the garden every time, there wouldn't be only these three corpses."

Chang Xu said, "Then this could also be a hint and clue the instance deliberately left for us."

Ye Zi had been quietly listening to their discussion from the side, deep in thought.

She suddenly looked at Zou Yan and asked, "You said you 'remember this instance has been opened many times.' Does that mean you knew about this instance in reality?"

"I only glanced at it once on the forum. I didn't carefully read what they were discussing." Zou Yan's expression did not change, revealing no flaw. "There were tens of thousands of instances in the Novice Pool, and only three days to prepare. I couldn't possibly look through every one of them. At the time, I thought Rule Horror instances would be simple. As long as I was careful not to break The Rules, it would be fine, so I skipped all instances of this kind."

Ye Zi seemed angered and gave a cold laugh. "What was there to prepare for in other instances? At most, you could see what ghosts and monsters there were, but if you ran into them, you'd still die when it was time to die. Any normal person knows that only rule horror has any value in preparing beforehand..."

Zou Yan apologized, "Ye Zi, I'm sorry. I truly didn't consider that much at the time. I saw that all Rule Horror instances were team instances, so I thought even if I didn't prepare, other Players would have done their homework. I really didn't expect things to turn out like this..."

"Don't change the subject!" Ye Zi's voice suddenly rose. "You clearly know more than we do, yet you're hiding it. Even a ghost could tell what you're thinking! Brother Shen is already dead. Who's next? Me?"

"Without evidence, don't make baseless accusations. I have reason to suspect you're judging others by yourself."

"Heh, then tell me, how did you know last night that covering your head would keep you safe?"

Ye Zi sneered and turned to walk toward the castle's main entrance.

She walked a little too quickly and bumped her shoulder into Chang Xu, who was standing nearby. The recoil sent her stumbling.

Unable to save face, she turned back before entering and shot Chang Xu a vicious glare.

Chang Xu, who had suffered this undeserved disaster, slowly formed a question mark with his gaze and gradually became a mess in the wind.

Rose Manor only served two meals, one in the morning and one in the evening. Lunch was not provided.

Although the Players had spent the entire morning struggling and were starving, none of them complained about the arrangement. After all, sharing a table with Miss Anna was truly torture.

The Mechanical Clock on the second floor rang twelve unhurried chimes, its hollow toll announcing the arrival of noon.

Chang Xu climbed the stairs to the second floor alone. The moment he looked up, he saw Qi Si leaning against the door to his room, a red gown dangling from one hand.

The red gown had to be a clue. Chang Xu raised an eyebrow slightly. "What do you want with me?"

Qi Si straightened up and smiled at him. "Brother Chang, want to take a look at the third floor together?"

Weren't we at each other's throats before? Why was he suddenly suggesting cooperation?

Chang Xu asked directly, "Why ask me? From your perspective, you can't rule out the possibility that I killed Shen Ming."

"But that isn't important," Qi Si said.

Approaching Chang Xu had been part of his plan. Of the five survivors, Chang Xu was clearly superior in combat ability, and combat power was precisely what Qi Si lacked.

Picking up from Chang Xu's previous words, he smiled and said, "Assuming your account of last night is true, I'm guessing you have methods for dealing with the supernatural. I just happen to be rather fragile. The moment I encounter something supernatural, I'm done for, so I need someone capable of fighting to help me handle special situations."

"As for whether you actually killed someone, I don't care. The best safeguard is an accurate judgment of the situation. When morality is weak and powerless, I only talk about interests."

"Cooperation brings nothing but benefits, while hostility only leads to self-destruction. Neither of us is an idiot. What's the point of dwelling on public morality and decency besides wasting time?"

Chang Xu's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. Then Qi Si added, "Besides, I can't beat you. So cooperating with me poses no risk to you at all, does it?"

This was a line of logic Chang Xu was familiar with and found useful. He nodded instinctively in agreement.

Qi Si continued, "I have the key to clearing this instance. Going to the third floor is only to verify some of my guesses."

"If you cooperate with me, we can unravel the world setting together and both come out happy. If you kill me, or let me die for no clear reason—"

He chuckled softly. "Heh. Then you'll have to guess the remaining clues yourself."

That made sense. Chang Xu nodded again, tacitly accepting Qi Si's proposal.

The next second, Qi Si, standing by the door, stepped aside and gave way, signaling for him to open it. "Since we've chosen to cooperate, how about sharing the clues in our rooms as well?"

Chang Xu did not suspect anything. He walked straight to the door, took out his room key from his pocket, and inserted it into the lock.

Looking at the utterly defenseless back of the man's neck before him, Qi Si suddenly began imagining the sensation of a blade gliding through skin.

His gaze darkened. He barely suppressed the dangerous thought and added from the side in a voice so fake it could not have been faker, "I may have to trouble you, Brother Chang, to reveal some information first. My teammate is still alive, and he's rather petty. He's been refusing to let me reveal clues first... Sigh, who could have expected Brother Shen to die so early?"

Chang Xu had no intention of playing along. Without a word, he turned the key, unlocked the door, and pushed it open.

Qi Si immediately dropped his hypocritical expression and followed him inside with a serious face.

Room 3 had much the same layout as Room 2: a large bed, an oil lamp, a desk, and two chairs made up all the furniture inside.

The notebooks on the desk were stacked neatly together. Resting atop them was a sheet of Papyrus covered in writing, likely an organized record of clues.

Qi Si did not stand on ceremony. He walked directly to the desk, picked up the paper, and began reading.

[I am forever trapped by time]

[Where dawn and dusk meet]

[The cycle repeats year after year]

[Yesterday returns with me]

[I do not know how long I have lived here, but I still remember the morning I first arrived. A cold curtain of rain fell from the high heavens and enveloped the world. Amid the gray and hazy landscape, there was a patch of red, brilliant beyond compare, blending those bleak and depressing colors into a charming, dreamlike lavender.]

[I reined in my horse outside the iron gate and saw such a lovely face through the window! She shone so brilliantly that I instantly forgot the pouring rain and mistook myself for being beneath bright sunshine. She was Anna. From the first moment I saw her, I thought, I had fallen hopelessly in love with her.]

[Anna and her younger sister Annie depended on each other and lived in Rose Manor. Their parents had passed away three years earlier—what unfortunate news that was. There were only the two of them in the castle, without even a maid.]

[Their family had already fallen into decline in their parents' generation. Their meager inheritance was only enough to maintain the manor, and they had to sell Roses to make a living. I asked Anna what she planned to do in the future. She said she might marry a newly risen Noble with wealth to improve their lives. "I want my sister to be happier than I am," she told me.]

[Anna and I soon fell in love. Annie seemed very dissatisfied with it. Again and again, she declared that she did not need to sell her sister's beauty in exchange for a better life. She seemed to love her sister dearly. How could I make her believe that I would love Anna forever?]

[Over the past few days, I have written several letters home, trying to hint to Father about Anna and me. I hope there will be a good outcome.]

[If Father does not agree, if she is willing to give up her status for me, we could arrange a time and together in the night... No, that idea is far too mad!]

[That night, Anna ultimately did not come to me, and I could only leave alone. I returned home and spent a year convincing Father before returning to Rose Manor.]

[After not seeing her for so long, Anna seemed to have changed somewhat. The scent of Roses on her was far stronger than before, and I did not like that smell very much. She was cold toward me. Several times, when I turned around by chance, I saw the chill in her eyes, and it almost wounded me.]

[Anna told me that she believed death was the best nourishment for Roses. I think I understand something now. It is the worst possible guess, but if I can save her, I am willing.]